Daring Iran War Rescue Highlights Small But Crucial Military Tech

The rescue of a US airman concealed in a mountain crevice in Iran was comparable to finding a grain of sand in the desert, says CIA director John Ratcliffe: The agency was only able to pull off the mission thanks to “exquisite technologies” exclusive to the US. 

One key piece of that technology was a Boeing-made satellite beacon that the aviator, known only by his call sign Dude 44 Bravo, used to signal his location. President Trump alluded to the “very sophisticated” gadget while speaking about the rescue on Monday. 

It’s one example of an emerging arsenal of small defense tech that goes beyond the obvious missiles and fighter jets.

Front Lines of Funding

President Trump convinced Congress to boost this fiscal year’s defense budget to $1 trillion and said in January he wants to spend $1.5 trillion next year. Within this year’s budget, spending on newer technologies like AI and drones is said to have jumped more than 20%, while spending on legacy programs has remained the same. The Iran War has showcased how innovative, smaller defense tech can play an outsized role in modern warfare:

• The US in March deployed the so-called Toyota Corolla of drones, a small and affordable suicide drone developed by the startup SpektreWorks. The drone’s a response to Iran’s Shahed drones, which have been dominating the airspace and taking down large payloads. 
• Startups like SpektreWorks are spearheading much of the defense sector’s emerging technology and reaping the rewards for it. The defense tech sector raised $11.2 billion globally last year, Dealroom found, up from just $869 million in 2020. While major players like Boeing make innovative tech, too, like Dude 44 Bravo’s communications device, the majority of their revenue still comes from legacy systems. 

Mirage or Solid: As defense tech receives a wave of investment, it’s unclear how much R&D will turn into reality. On Tuesday, the New York Post reported that Boeing’s device was the mythicized “Ghost Murmur,” a futuristic CIA tool that can trace the electromagnetic signal from a single human heartbeat across vast distances. The Post’s unnamed source said the tool leverages AI and quantum magnetometry (basically, magnetic field measurement). Physicists interviewed by Scientific American were skeptical that such a device could exist.